A SAN FRANCISCO COMPANY participated in this week’s New England electricity auction, agreeing to provide 20 megawatts of power from its 5,000 customers in the region.

Sunrun Inc, participated in the so-called forward capacity auction, where the regional grid operator ISO-New England solicits commitments to provide electricity three years from now in 2022-2023.

Chris Rauscher, the policy and storage market strategy director at Sunrun, said the company will meet its electricity commitment by either reducing the power its customers draw from the grid or by feeding stored power from their homes on to the grid. Sunrun customers utilize solar panels and batteries to generate and store electricity.

Rauscher said it was the first time home solar and battery storage had participated in an electricity auction alongside power plants. He said customers won’t have to give up anything in supplying power to the grid. “With batteries, there’s no impact on the comfort of the customer. It’s totally a game-changer here,” he said.

The Sunrun approach will also generate financial benefits. “This is a new revenue stream both for the company and the customer,” said Rauscher, who declined to provide specifics on the company’s auction revenues.